This Incident Report describes events that occurred in Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District during July 2022. On July 2nd 2022, State Administration Council (SAC) troops entered into A--- village, Ler Muh Per village tract and shot dead two villagers. They also burned down 12 houses. As a result of this incident, the entire of village was forced to flee. Villagers still felt scared to return to their village as of the end of July 2022.[1]

 

Part 1 – Incident Details

Type of Incident

Indiscriminate killing and house burning

Date of Incident(s)

July 2nd 2022

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, Law Muh Per village tract[2], Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District

Victim Information

Name

Saw[3] Ma Nay Htoo

Maung[4] Nay Lin Htun

Age

24

18

Sex

Male

Male

Nationality

Karen

Bamar[5]

Family   

Single

Single

Occupation

Gardner

Hill farmer and car driver

Religion

Buddhist

Buddhist

Position

-

-

Village

A---

A---

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)                   

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

SAC Military Operation Command (MOC) #3, #18, #15

Bahmo, Kachin State [from central base camp]

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

SAC Infantry Battalion #60

Headquarters at Bahmo, Kachin State

Unknown

 

Part 2 - Information Quality

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

On July 3rd 2022, the KHRG field researcher preparing this report received a phone call from a A--- villager who reported the incident to him. The next morning on July 4th 2022, he went to the displacement site and conducted interviews with the head of a--- village tract, Saw B---, and a villager from A---, Naw C---, on July 5th and 6th.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

Both the head of A--- village tract, Saw B---, and the villager, Naw C---,  witnessed the incidents and thus could provide information regarding the incidents.

 

Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. For each incident, be sure to include 1) when the incident happened, 2) where it happened, 3) what happened, 4) how it happened, 5) who was involved, and 6) why it happened. Also describe any villager response(s) to the incident, the aftermath and the current living situation of the victims. Please use the space prepared below, and create an attachment if needed.

At 3:30 pm on July 2nd 2022, troops from State Administration Council (SAC)[6] Military Operations Command (MOC)[7] #3, #8, and #15 and Infantry Battalion (IB)[8] #60 [commander unidentified] swiftly entered A--- village, A--- village tract, Ler Doh Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District while no one was aware and shot dead two villagers: 24-year-old Saw Ma Nay Htoo and 18-year-old Maung Nay Lin Htun. After SAC soldiers shot dead these two villagers, they [the SAC] burned down 12 houses.  Following this incident, the villagers from Law Mu Per village fled and dared not return to their village. Although the villagers want to go back to their village to check on their livestock [chickens and pigs], they don't dare to go because they are concerned that the SAC troops may have planted landmines in their village. As of July 2022, all A--- villagers are still in displacement sites and dare not return to their village due to this incident.

 

Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

The interviewees gave permission to use and publish this information.

 

 

                    

Further background reading on the security situation and human rights violations in Kler Lwee Htoo District in Southeast Burma can be found in the following KHRG reports:

 

Wed, 21 Dec 2022

Footnotes: 

[1] The present document is based on information received in July 2022. It was provided by a community member in Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions on the ground. The names of the victims, their photos and the exact locations are censored for security reasons. The parts in square brackets are explanations added by KHRG.

[2] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large
village.

[3] Saw is a S’gaw Karen male honorific title used before a person’s name.

[4] Maung is a Burmese male honorific title used before a person’s name.

[5] The majority ethnic group in Burma/Myanmar, also known as ethnic Burmese or Burman.

[6] The State Administration Council (SAC) is the executive governing body created in the aftermath of the February
1st 2021 military coup. It was established by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on February 2nd 2021, and is composed of eight military officers and eight civilians. The chairperson serves as the de facto head of government of Burma/Myanmar and leads the Military Cabinet of Myanmar, the executive branch of the government. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of SAC chairperson following the coup.

[7] A Military Operations Command is composed of ten battalions for offensive operations. Most MOCs have three Tactical Operations Commands (TOCs), made up of three battalions each.

[8] An Infantry Battalion (IB) comprises 500 soldiers. However, most Infantry Battalions in the Tatmadaw are under-strength with less than 200 soldiers. Yet up to date information regarding the size of battalions is hard to come by, particularly following the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). They are primarily used for garrison duty but are sometimes used in offensive operations.

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